1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information output method of an operation unit in an information output apparatus for generating output information on the basis of input information input from the outside and also relates to an information output apparatus having such an operation unit.
2. Related Background Art
FIG. 18 is a plan view showing an example of an operation panel of such a kind of information output apparatus.
In the diagram, reference numeral 200 denotes an operation panel unit having a liquid crystal display (LCD) 201 which can display about 16 or more characters, a key input unit 203 including seven or more key portions, and the like in order to realize complicated display and operation. Reference numeral 202 denotes a state display.
By using the operation panel with such a construction as mentioned above, a state and errors of the apparatus can be displayed, an output environment can be changed, and other special operations such as output of a list of output environment or a list of fonts and resetting processing can be executed.
Such a kind of apparatus has one or a plurality of control code analyzing means and generally doesn't judge whether input data is data which can be printed by the apparatus or not. An output processing is executed by using either one of the control code analyzing means.
For example, in a conventional printing apparatus, there has been proposed a printing apparatus such that data is received from a host computer on a page unit basis, a character code or graphics data which was transmitted from the host computer is developed into a bit map, image data transmitted from the host computer is developed, or an external character font or logotype is developed, thereby forming bit map information as output information on a page unit basis and printing and outputting.
A printing mechanism (printer engine) which is provided for the printing apparatus is generally constructed in the following manner. The bit map information of the page unit mentioned above is converted into the video signal and is developed into the print data and transferred to the printing mechanism. In the printing mechanism, in order to execute an electrophotographic processing such that the image corresponding to the page unit bit map information is formed onto a photosensitive drum by a developing agent such as a toner or the like synchronously with the video signal by using a light emitting device such as laser beam, LED array, liquid crystal shutter, or the like, the developed image is copy transferred onto a recording medium, and stable print result is output by using a fixing device at a high temperature and a high voltage, the operation unit generally has a plurality of keys and a display panel in order to set printing modes corresponding to various kinds of settings. In addition to the ordinary printing mode, in case of executing a mode to set an interface format or the like of a test print or print information, what is called a "special" display mode, it can be executed by a combination such that the above plurality of keys are simultaneously depressed or the. like.
In the case where the number of keys which are provided in the operation unit is small, however, it is impossible to perform an instruction to shift the operating mode to many special display modes. In the printing apparatus accompanied with the shift to the special display modes, there are problems such that the number of keys is large, the costs of the operation unit increase, and when the operating mode is shifted to the special display modes, a burden of the key operation of the operator increases and an erroneous operation is caused, and the like.
The costs of the operation panel which is occupied in the printing apparatus main body rise with an increase in number of keys, so that such a drawback becomes an obstacle for reduction in costs.
However, when the apparatus is simplified by eliminating the operation panel, there occurs a problem such that information of printer resources with respect to special operating functions such as printing of a list of printing environment or a list of fonts, resetting operation, display of detailed error information, and the like which are indispensable on the product specifications and need to be executed by using the operation panel cannot be provided to the user.
In the case where the user erroneously sent a control code of the kind which cannot be printed by the printing apparatus or where the user erroneously set a communication interface between the external apparatus and the printing apparatus, for example, even at a transfer speed of RS232C, either one of the control code analyzers executes an analysis processing. Therefore, there is a case where the wrong printing continuously executed over a few pages, so that there is a problem such that an electric power, print sheets, and toner are wasted.
Further, in order to avoid such waste, it is necessary for the user to execute the operation to cancel the input data by using the operation panel or the like of the printing apparatus. Particularly, in case of using the printing apparatus in the network environment, its printing state cannot be grasped, so that there is a serious problem such that the wasted printing operation is continued until completion.